Wakefield volleyball
Wakefield senior Katie Slay (16) was named to the fourth annual Under Armour Girls High School All-America team. With her selection, Slay will attend the Under Armour All-America Volleyball Match & Skills Competition held in Tampa, Fla., Dec. 18-20.
Wakefield's Slay named to Under Armour All-America team
If the Penn State University women's volleyball team makes a run at its third consecutive national championship this December in Tampa, Fla. — a good chance considering the Lions have won 90-plus contests in a row — Wakefield senior and future Lady Lion Katie Slay will be there.
But the title game won't be the emphasis of the Lady Wolverine's trip down south.
In a press release last week, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced the rosters for the fourth annual Under Armour Girls High School All-America Teams, and Slay earned first-team All-America honors.
All 24 first-team representatives are invited to compete in the Under Armour All-America Volleyball Match & Skills Competition held in Tampa, Fla., Dec. 18-20.
And what's one of the perks of being a first-team All-American? Tickets to the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship Match held the same weekend as the high school All-Star event in Florida.
Slay is one of six future Lions named to the Under Armour first-team as well as the lone first-team representative from North Carolina.
"I'm excited and I'm looking forward to going down there because I know it is a really great honor," Slay said last week. "You can't turn down an opportunity like this one."
In all, Under Armour and the AVCA honored 100 girls from 27 states. The state of North Carolina had two other honorees in addition to Slay as Cardinal Gibbons' Avery Striebel and Broughton's Nicole Willis — both LSU recruits — earned second-team accolades.
Slay said she's excited to join her future teammates, who hail from all over the country.
"There are a lot of girls on the list heading to Penn State, which will make it a lot of fun," she said. "I've never played on the same team with them before, but I've met them all at club tournaments. I'm excited that we will all get a chance to hang out together."
While the event features the best high school volleyball players in the country, and will be televised on ESPNU, Slay said she isn't nervous despite the big stage.
"I'm more just looking forward to the experience more than anything," she said.
Plus, it's not as though Slay hasn't played in big competitions before, helping the U.S. Women’s Junior National Team to the 2008 NORCECA Women’s Junior Continental Championship gold medal last year.
The announcement of All-America Teams comes just two weeks after Slay's official visit to Happy Valley and her signing with the Lady Lions.
During her trip to the State College campus, Slay watched the Lady Lions battle both Northwestern and Illinois.
In addition to taking in two volleyball matches, she was also escorted to the sidelines prior to Penn State's football game against Indiana, standing a few feet from head coach Joe Paterno and getting her photo taken with Penn State's drum major.
"Freshman volleyball players always have to host the recruits, so if they are going to the football games, I'm going to definitely volunteer," Slay laughed.
The Under Armour All-America Volleyball Match is held Sunday, Dec. 20 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa. The match begins at 1 p.m.
